Ask us about the Pre!

Can we get an in-depth review of the internet browser, if i'm not mistaken, palm said the phone can open as many windows/tabs as we want without slowing down the phone. I am interested to see what you guys think, especially in comparison to other mobile browsers and even the desktop browser. Thanks!

It's pretty good. VERY fast to load pages. I was impressed with that. It's based on WebKit, so it will render whatever the iPhone will render, the same way. It has double-tap and pinch zooming just like the iPhone... and yes you can open new browser "cards", as many as you want. Anything else?

Any word on whether they're making it compatible with any of Sprint's services like NFL Live or Sprint TV, etc? Since the old Palm OS was compatible with these services I'd guess that the new Web OS will be too but, thought I'd ask.

This phone looks really good,and it only makes sense that this phone is going to sprint, ITS FROM PALM. in my opinion, they have a good connection between each other. But rich, my question is, does this phone have expandable memory? i know that its packed with 8 gbs of memory, but they've finally unleashed those 16gb memory cards and i wouldn't mind hooking my phone up with some more memory. Another thing is, i have a lot of my songs on my computer in wma format, so my question is, will it be able to play those songs and if not, will there be some type of program along with the device that will allow me to convert my songs to make it compatible with the pre'? PLEASE FIND OUT

soHEARTLESSs said:This phone looks really good,and it only makes sense that this phone is going to sprint, ITS FROM PALM. in my opinion, they have a good connection between each other. But rich, my question is, does this phone have expandable memory?

From the article:

There are some key omissions in the Pre. Although you get 8 GB of memory to play with, there is no memory card slot to add more. ...

i only use the microSD card for transfering pics from my phone to my wife's phone since her phone doesnt have bluetooth.. but with this phone having a huge memory capacity and USB mass storage mode..i dont see why you'll ever need a microSD slot, instead of buying microSD cards and readers you only need a data cable...which IMO is always included in PDA phone packages anyway(so there is really no reason for you to buy anything extra)

so basically you just buy phone...no need for microSD card and reader..no hassle of removing card from phone to reader to computer and back ...

Rich and others answered your questions about the SD cards and expandable memory so I thought I'd help out with the music thing.WMA files are imbedded with MICROSOFT software making them incompatable with almost any technology other then WMP (Windows Media Player) so I believe it would be safe to guess that these won't be working on your PRE. However, the technology that you speak of to convert these to MP3 (or other combatable format) already exists and is not exclusive to palm. I use the same program on my desktop to do this as I do to "RIP" music off my CDs. Google it, its easy to find these days.

Thanks for bringing us so much info on the Pre. I know you mentioned that the Pre would not support video out of the box but that it would probably do so down the road. Do you know if that will be something that can be done via a firmware update or will it require new hardware to make it happen?

The only thing I think this artical was missing in my oppinion is the in depth information we get in a review where you've spent more time on the phone. Do you have any indication of estimated battery life?And on that note I'm assuming there is a way to STOP the phone from using that auto-gps feature to keep it from constantly connecting a destroying the battery life?Another thing I was wondering was the screen. How does it look for apps or pictures in direct sunlight? How is the backlighting on the keypad?On the topic of the charging station, it was referred to as a puck, I didn't see any pictures of it, is it puck size/color? Or is it more like a porting station, holding the phone upright?I'm assuming this puck does have a cord c...(continues)

I've done some further research and in case any of you had some of the same questions I did, I've answered some of them, here's what I came up with.In reguards to the charging unit it is almost exactly like a puck. Its called the touchstone charging dock: It has a slight downward slant and a large PALM symbol on the top. A large magnent hold the phone in place on the flat surface. You can view a picture of it here: http://www.palm.com/us/products/accessories/d ock.html

In reguards to the auto GPS feature keeping track of your whereabouts it is a feature that must be proactivly STARTED and maintained so it won't wear down your battery unless you want it to.

In reguards to the keyboard Rich actually answered that question pretty well i...(continues)

Much of that info will have to wait until we have the opportunity to do a full review. We simply did not have the opportunity to test battery life, nor the display in sunlight, etc. That will all have to wait until around launch time.

The puck is an optional accessory. Yes, it's puck size and shape, but slanted. There are photos and info on Palm's web site. It does plug into a wall, of course, but the Pre simply lays on top of it (held by a magnet) - there are no direct wires or contacts between the puck and the Pre. What we call the puck is actually called the TouchStone by Palm.

The keyboard keys have all of the feel and shape of the Centro keys. They are not flatter, at least as far as I could tell.

No. Even if someone has inside info on planned pricing, it means nothing. Final pricing won't be decided until it actually launches. It will be based on the competitive landscape at that time. You can also be sure it will change at some point after. That's true for all phones.

Running ICal would defeat the purpose of the Synergy platform. I think a lot of people either do not know about Synergy or they do not understand how it works.

I will give you a brief rundown on Synergy:

Synergy enables dynamic syncing, other words there is no need to log into anything, that includes AIM, Facebook, Google, etc. Example, when you launch your address book or contact(s) everything is automatically synced and merged into one. That includes your email, outlook, MSExchange (if you have it setup), Google, Calendar, Task, Address book, AIM, Facebook, etc.

Synergy looks for duplicates as well so you will never have more than one of the same contact. Also, if someone updates their photo, let's say on Facebook for e.g, ...(continues)

I was wondering..normally Aim is very basic on previous palm handhelds along with Blackberry phones and all other normal flip phones. The sidekick is the only one that actually lets you customize away messages and icons, etc..is it going to be as advanced on the Pre..or is it going to be normal and basic like previous models and all other phones? PLEASE RESPOND